MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — A Bitcoin data center could be coming soon to Ivey Circle in Monroe County.
Last week, Monroe County's Planning and Zoning committee denied the request for the 80-acre project. Now, county commissioners will have the final say.
"A bitcoin farm would disrupt the whole environment of our life out here," Cynthia Haines said.
Ivey Circle is where the Haines family have lived for 40 years. Cynthia Haines says bringing in a Bitcoin farm will not benefit the community.
"There's no jobs. It could actually ruin our groundwater," Haines said. "We don't know that yet, but they're saying that they're having to dig wells."
A Soperton Company wants to rezone the site. According to their application they'd house computers in small shipping containers with generators and cooling towers.
"This is our house we've lived in for 40 years," Haines said. "We built it ourselves and we love it here and we're hoping that this doesn't happen."
Dozens of people raised their hands in opposition of the project at last week's Planning & Zoning meeting. Opponents argued the project would use as much water as draining High Falls Lake eight times a year.
"We've been here a long time and it's not something that we've ever thought would even come up out here," Haines said.
Al Turner is running for Monroe County District 4 Commissioner, and says the project should be placed in a different area.
"I talked to several of those of the voters and the constituents out there and they don't want it in there. So we would have to make some kind of concession on that because they wanted to stay kind of like residential area," Turner said. "I think this would be coming in as a commercial which I think it would have to be rezoned for industrial."
Turner's opponent Mark D'Agostino says he also opposes the project. He says the biggest problems are the noise, energy and water use.